Bathing apparatus.



No. 7|4,659. 4Patented Dec. 2, |902.

H. G. BATCHELDER.

BATHmG APPARATUS.

(Application filed Nov. 1B, 1901.)

' (No Model.)

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l' NITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

HERBERT BATQHELDER, OF ALLSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BATHING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters Patent No. 714,659, dated December 2, 1902.

Application led November 18, 1901. Serial No. 82,616. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it 11mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT G. BATCH- ELDER, a citizen of the United States,residingV at Allston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Bathing Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like numerals 0n the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to bathing apparatus; and it has for its object to provide a device by means of which the ordinary bath-tub commonly found in houses may be made use of for taking a steam or vapor bath;

To this end the invention consists of a suitable `cover, preferably of some flexible material,which cover is adapted to be stretched across the top of the bath-tub and secured `thereto `at the ends thereof, the said cover having at one end asuitable aperture through which may project the head of the person taking the bath.

The inventionalso comprises suitable mean for lnaintaining the cover tight or taut, the means preferably employed for this purpose being in the nature of a spring-roll to which one end of the iiexible cover :is secured and upon which the cover may be rolled when not in use.l I have also provided a suitable seat or support of reticulated material,which may be detachably secured to the tub and which is adapted to sustain the Weight of the person taking the bath.

In. using my device the cover is stretched across the top of the bath-tub, so as to make the top substantially steam-tight, and a suitable vaporizing apparatus will be placed in the tub to produce the necessary heat and vapor for the bath.

In the drawings, Figureil is a perspective View of my apparatus when in use. Fig. 2 is a section of the spring-roll I prefer to employ, part of the roll being broken out. Fig. 3 shows the support or seat for the person While using the apparatus. Fig. 4 is a detail of one end of the cover. Figs. 5 and 6 show different forms of devices'for supporting the cover in position. Figs. 7 and 8 are details of the spring-roller; and Fig. 9 is a section on the line w m, Fig. 4.

The invention comprises, as I have stated,

vagainst the same.

a iexible cover adapted to be stretched across and cover the top of the bath-tub, such cover being designated by 3 and being made of any suitable material, such as canvas. Due end of the cover is slit, as at 4, the cut or slit terminating in an aperture 5,which is'adapted to receive the neck of the person employing the apparatus,as shown in Fig. 1. The cover is provided at each end with means for detaehably securing the same to the ends of the bathtub, and provision is also made for maintaining the cover under tension, so as to hold the same tightly in position over the tub.

As shown in Figs. l and 4, that enld of the cover having the aperture therein has secured thereto a stiffening-bar 6, the said bar having one or more eyes 7,which are adapted to be secured to hooks or fingers 8, supported by the end of the tub. (See Fig. l.) I will preferably use only one of said eyes 7, and in my preferred construction the bar 8 is detachably secured to the cover. For this purpose each half of the cover at that end illustrated in Fig. 4 is provided with an eyelet 9,

which is adapted to detachably engage a button or stud 10, secured to the bar 6.

I will preferably stiften the two halves of the flexible cover by means of plates 11, (shown in Fig. 9 and by dotted lines in Fig. 4,) so that when the two portions of the cover are secured to the strip 6 they will lie flat Instead of detachably securing both halves of the cover to the bar 6 I may fixedly secure one side thereof,as shown at 13 in Fig. l.

In order that the full benefit of the steam or vapor bath may be derived by the person taking the same, it is necessary that the cover fit the bath-tub tightly to prevent the escape of the steam, and accordingly Ihave provided means for maintaining the cover under tension in a direction diametrically of the tub. I find that this is conveniently accomplished by means of a spring-roll, such as shown in Fig. 2. In said ligure, 14 designates the'roll, to which one end of the cover 3 is secured in any suitable way, and 15 designates a bail in which the roll is j ournaled and by means of which itis secured to the tub. For this purpose the bail is shown as having an eye 16 therein, which may be placed over a finger or hook 17 on the bath-tub. Said spring-roll is lOO provided at one end with a socket 18, in which is received a spring 19, one end of said spring being fast to the roll and the other end thereof being secured to a rod 20, which extends lengthwise of the socket 18 and has its outer end 2l polygonal in shape and received by a correspondingly-shaped eye in the end of the bail. The other end of the bail has an eye which receives any suitable journal 23 on the other end of the spring-roll. With this construction and assuming that the cover is rolled up upon the roll it will be seen that as the cover is withdrawn from the roll the spring 19 will be wound up and will tend constantly to rotate the roll in the bail in a direction to wind the cover thereon and will therefore hold the cover tight or under tension.

In using the device thevaporizer is first placed in the tub and the eye 16 of the bail is placed over the finger 17. The cover will then be unwound from the roll and the other end thereof hooked over the finger 8. Upon detaching one of the iiaps or halves 31 from the bar 6 sufficient room is provided for the person to get into the tub, after which the flap 31 may be secured back in place.

It will be obvious from the above description that the cover will be maintained under tension and will be held closely to the top of the bath-tub, thereby preventing escape of the steam.

When the device is not in use, the tension of the spring 19 willserve to Wind the cover up upon the roll into a compact form for storage.

In those bath-tubs which are incased in a wooden casing or in those wherein a wooden rail is employed around the top of the tub the lingers 17 and 8 may be in the nature of screwhooks, which are screwed into the wooden portion of the tub. In case the tub is a metallic or porcelain tub, however, I may employ either one of the devices shown in Figs. 5 and 6 or any other similar device for sup porting the cover.

In Fig. 5I haveillustrated rods or fingers 40, which are detachably secured in any suitable way at their lower ends in blocks 41 on the iioor, the said rods or fingers projecting upwardly beyond the upper edge of the tub, as shown, and preferably being bent backwardly slightly, these fingers serving to receive the eyes 7 and 16 at the opposite ends of the cover.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated one convenient form of detachable clamp, which may be clamped to the edge of the bath-tub and which has projecting therefrom a suitable fin ger to receive either one of the eyes 7 or 16. This clamp comprises a double U-shaped portion 43, which is adapted to be placed over the edge of the tub, as shown in Fig. 3, and the cam-finger`44, which is pivoted thereto, said linger having the cam portion 45, which is adapted to engage the outside of the tub when the finger 44 is in operative position, as best seen in Fig. 3. In placing the clamp over the edge of the tub or in moving it therefrom the iinger 44 Will be swung into the dotted-line position, Fig. 6, when the clamp may be readily removed. I prefer also to provide some suitable support to sustain the weight of the person taking the bath, and for this purpose I have provided a suitable seat 48, of suitable reticulated materia1,which is in the nature of a hammock and which may be detachably suspended within the tub, at one end thereof.

It is sometimes desirable to prevent the cover from being rolled up upon the roll, especially when it is desired to dry the same, and I may therefore employ a suitable pawland-ratchet device, such as shown in Fig. 7, in connection with the rod 20, the said pawland-ratchet device operating to lock the roll against rotating in a direction to wind up the cover. As illustrated, the ends of the roll have pivoted thereto suitable pawls 50, which are adapted to engage notches 51 in the end of the rod 20. The pawls are so constructed, however, that when the roll is rotating rapidly to wind the cover up the notches will pass by the nose of the pawls so rapidly as to prevent their being engaged by the said pawls. By careful manipulation, however, one or theother of the pawls m`ay be made to engage the notch, and thus hold the roll from winding up. It will thus be seen thatI have provided a very simple and inexpensive device by means of which a steam or vapor bath may be taken in any ordinary bath-tub.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a bath-tub, of a iiexible cover secured to the ends only of said tub and covering the tub, said cover having at one end an aperture through which may project the head of the person using the apparatus, and a spring operating to maintain the cover under tension in the direction of the length of the tub.

2. In a bathing apparatus, the combination with a bathtub, of a flexible cover for the tub, said cover having at one end an aperture through which the head of the person using the tub may project, and being detachably secured to the tub at such end, a spring-roll on which the other end of the cover is wound, and means to detachably secure the roll to the opposite end of the tub.

3. A cover for a bath-tub, comprising a spring-roll having means to detachably secure the same to one end of a tub, and a flexible cover secured at one end to the roll and adapted to be rolled thereabout, said cover having at its other end means to detachably securel the same to the other end of the bath-tub.

4. A cover for a bath-tub, comprising a spring-roll having means to secure the same to one end of a bath-tub, a flexible cover having-one end secured to the roll, whereby the cover may be rolled about the roll, and a bar IOO IIO

detachably secured to the other end of said cover, said bar having means to detachably secure the same to the bath-tub.

5. A cover for a bath-tub, comprising a springwoll, a bail in which said roll is journaled, said bail having means to detachably secure the same to one end of the bath-tub, a iieXibie cover having one end secured to said roll, and means tov secure the other end of said cover to the opposite end of the bath-tub.

6. In an apparatus of the class described,

the combination with a bath-tub, of fingers detachably supported at the ends thereof, a iiexible cover supported at its ends on said fingers, and means to maintain the cover under tension in the direction of a line extending between said fingers.

HERBERT G. BATCHELDER.

Witnesses:

Louis C. SMITH, GEO. W. GREGORY. 

